Document sorting apparatus

ABSTRACT

Document handling apparatus comprising an elongate and substantially rigid base mounted on four legs and an elongate carriage which is slidably mounted on the base. The carriage is formed with an elongate upwardly facing channel adapted to hold documents or alternatively to hold trays for documents and each end of the base is formed with two similar transversely spaced and longitudinally extending downwardly facing channels in which the upper end portions of the legs are located and mounted. The base is preferably formed with two upstanding longitudinally extending side walls and the carriage with two downwardly depending longitudinally extending side walls which overlap vertically with the upstanding side walls and rolling elements are mounted and contained between the upstanding and downwardly depending side walls enabling the carriage to be readily slidably moved on the base.

United States Patent 1 [111 3,789,779 Guest et al. Feb. 5, 1974 DOCUMENT SORTING APPARATUS 695,617 9/1965 ltaly 108/143 [76] Inventors: Jack B. Guest; Kathleen E. .1. Guest,

both of l 19 Albury Dr., Pinner, England [22] Filed: Jan. 3, 1972 [21] Appl. No.: 214,783

[30] Foreign Application Priority Data Jan. 11, 1971 Great Britain 1200/71 [52] US. Cl 108/101, 108/102, 248/188 [51] Int. Cl A4711 57/00 [58] Field of Search..... 108/102, 92, 132, 129, 143,

[56] References Cited I UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,600,823 9/1926 Hess 108/129 3,044,632 7/1962 Schild 108/92 3,210,143 10/1965 Frederick 108/102 X 3,628,471 12/1971 Burr 108/132 1,975,327 lO/l934 Loney 108/137 UX 2,757,937 8/1956 726,271 4/1903 Farley 248/224 FOREIGN PATENTS OR APPLICATIONS 3/1967 Netherlands 211/151 Primary ExaminerFrancis K. Zugel Assistant Examiner-Peter A. Aschenbrenner [57] ABSTRACT Document handling apparatus comprising an elongate and substantially rigid base mounted on four legs and an elongate carriage which is slidably mounted on the base. The carriage is formed with an elongate upwardly facing channel adapted to hold documents or alternatively to hold trays for documents and each end of the base is formed with two similar transversely spaced and longitudinally extending downwardly facing channels in which the upper end portions of the legs are located and mounted. The base is preferably formed with two upstanding longitudinally extending side walls and the carriage with two downwardly depending longitudinally extending side walls which overlap vertically with the upstanding side walls and rolling elements are mounted and contained between the upstanding and downwardly depending side walls enabling the carriage to be readily slidably moved on the base. 1

v 16 Claims, 7 Drawing Figures PAIENIED B HM I I I 3,789,779

' sum 3 or 3 The present invention relates to document handling apparatus for sorting, classifying and storing documents. I

It is known to provide document handling apparatus comprising a carriage which carries a plurality of trays in which document dividers are mounted, the carriage being slidable in a fixed bed which is itself mounted on a rigid stand. Known document handling apparatus of this type has hitherto had the disadvantages that it is bulky and therefore difficult and expensive to transport, it is a difficult and skilled job to assemble it, it tends to be unstable and it will hold only a limited number of document dividing cards.

It is an object of the present invention to provide document handling apparatus of this general type but which overcomes or substantially reduces the above described disadvantages of known apparatus.

STATEMENT OF THE INVENTION According to the present invention, there is provided document handling apparatus comprising an elongate and substantially rigid base mounted on four legs and an elongate carriage slidably mounted on the base and formed with an elongate upwardly facing channel adapted to hold documents or document holding trays, wherein each end of the base is formed with two similar transversely spaced and longitudinally extending downwardly facing channelsin which the upper end portions of the legs-are located and mounted.

The base is formed with two upstanding longitudinally extending side walls and the carriage is formed with two downwardly depending, longitudinally extending side walls which overlap vertically with the upstanding side walls and rolling elements are mounted and contained between the said upstanding side walls and the said downwardly depending side walls enabling the carriage to be slidably moved relative to the base.

Preferably, each leg comprises an upper horizontal end portion located in a channel of the base and projecting from an end of the base, an intermediate portion extending at right angles to the upper end portion and inclined to the vertical at approximately 45 and a lower vertical end portion extending at 135 from the intermediate portion. The upper end of each leg can be mounted in a channel with the aid of two spaced fastening members and the leg is pivotable about one of the fastening members when the other fastening member is removed so that the leg can be swung through 90 into a position in which the lower end portion of the leg lies parallel with and adjacent to the base.

The present inventionis also concerned with apparatus for supporting documents or similar articles comprising a channel shaped member having two upstanding side walls and a bottom surface extending between the side walls, a retaining member adapted to fit between the side walls of the channel shaped member with a small clearance between each side wall and the retaining member, a recess in atleast one of the side another, one of the arms extending downwardly between the said at least one side wall of the channel shaped member and the retaining member into the recess so as to abut the stop and being formed with a reversely bent portion which extends substantially wholly across the recess and the other arm of the removable flap extending outwardly from the said at least one side wall for the support of documents or the like articles.

The invention will be better understoodby referring to the following particular description of a preferred embodiment which is given by way of example only and with reference to the drawings.

DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS FIG. 1 is a side elevation of document handling apparatus of the present invention;

FIG. 2 is an end elevation of the apparatus of FIG. 1;

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT In FIGS. 1 and 2 document handling apparatus is indicated generally at l0-which comprises an elongate substantially rigid base 11 mounted on four angled legs 12, 13,14,15 and carrying an elongate sliding carriage 16. A tray 17 or a plurality of similar trays 17 are mounted in the carriage l6 and the or each tray 17 carries document dividers 18.

The fixed base 11 is formed as a single extrusion of a lightweight but strong metal alloy such as aluminium and is shaped to provide two outwardly and downwardly inclined, square-section channels 19 and 20 which are joined by a web 21. The channels 19 and 20 run the full length of the bed 11 and serve to locate and position the legs in a mannerwhich will be described below. Located immediately above each channel 19 and 20 is an upwardly extending side wall forming respectively longitudinally extending tracks 22 and 23 each of which faces outwardly and oppositely of the opposite track and which is adapted to receive and retain roller bearings. Each track 22 and 23 is C-shaped in section and has an open mouth which is defined by inturned flanges 22a, 22b and 23a, 2312 respectively.

The sliding carriage 16, which is mounted on the fixed base 11, is also formed as a single extrusion from a lightweight but strong metal alloy such as aluminium, and in cross-section, as can be seen from FIG. 2, is H shaped, having an upwardly facing channel and a downwardly facing channel. The upwardly facing channel is defined by side walls 26,27 and a web 28 and the downwardly facing channel is defined by the web 28 and by side walls 29,30 which overlap the side walls of the base. Six pairs of free running rollers 31 are mounted on the inside faces of the walls 29 and 30 and the rollers are located within the tracks 22 and 23 on the base 11.

When the sliding carriage is located on the base 11 with the rollers 31 running in the tracks 22 and 23 the carriage will slide freely on the base. Stops are provided on'the base 11 and on the carriage 16 to ensure that not more than one third of the length of the carriage can overhang either end of the fixed base, eg a stop is placed at the centre of the fixed base and a stop is placed one third of the way in from each end of the sliding carriage 16. Alternatively the stops can be reversed and the single stop mounted on the sliding carriage. The relative positions of the stops can be altered to allow for the desired maximum overhang and the stops are preferably formed from a resilient material so as to act as a damper on any vibration set up in the apparatus as a result of the movement of the carriage 16 along the base 11.

The four legs 12,13,14 and on which the fixed base 11 is mounted are formed from square section tubular aluminium and each leg comprises a vertical lower portion 32, an inclined intermediate portion 33 and a horizontally disposed upper portion 34. The upper portion 34 of each leg is located in a channel 19 or approximately six inches from the end of the channel, and is retained therein by two bolts 35 and 36. As can be seen from FIG. 3, a resilient pad 37 is compressed between the base of the channel 20 and the upper portion 34 of the leg 12 to act as a further damper to any vibrations set up in the apparatus as a result ofthe movement of the carriage 16 along the base 11.

The upper portion 34 of each leg isv inclined at an angle of 90 to the intermediate portion 33 which is itself inclined at an angle of 135 to the lower vertical portion 32 and the intermediate portion 33 of each leg is inclined to the vertical at 45 by virtue of the orientation of the channels 19 and 20. The shape and dimensions of the legs are such that the two legs at each end of the apparatus are spaced apart by a distance of approximately l2 inches.

A shelf 38 is provided beneath the base 11, the shelf 38 comprising two channel section members 39 and 40 which are formed from flat sheet steel. Each member 39 and 40 has a flanged edge and the two members are attached together by nuts 41 which extend through the flanges. The composite shelf 38 is then attached to the legs 12,l3,l4,15 by nuts 41a.- The shelf 38 in addition to providing filing space also adds substantially to the rigidity of the structure although it is not essential and the apparatus is stable without the shelf 38. Instead of a two part shelf, a unitary shelf can be provided in which event it may be preferable to increase the depth of the flanged edge of the shelf and provide end walls to the shelf.

Vertically adjustable glides 42 are provided at the foot of each leg 12,13,14 and 15 but these may be replaced by casters if required.

When the carriage 16 is mounted on the base 11, the channel shaped tray 17 is located in the upper channel 24 of the carriage l6 and the tray 17 is provided with inwardly directed flanges 44,45 which retain the document dividers 18 in a manner described in detail in the complete specification of our co-pending application Ser. No. 139,210.

As can be seen best from FIG. 3, each side wall 26 and 27 of the upper channel 24 is provided with an elongate 'recess 46 adjacent the web 28 and stepped down slightly from the web. Flaps 47 and 48 are mounted on each side wall 26 and 27 respectively and each flap 47 and 48 is formed with a right-angled flange 49 having a reversely bent lip 50 which locates in the recess 46. The lip 50 is located in the recess 46 so that the flange 49 lies flat against the inside face 27a of the wall 27 and the tray 17 is then placed within the channel 24 so as to lock the flange 49 and lip 50 in position with the main portion of the flap 48 projecting horizontally and outwardly from the wall 27. The purpose of the flaps 47 and 48 is to act as a support for documents located between the dividers 28 to prevent the documents falling out. The flaps can also be extended outwardly to form a working surface for the user of the apparatus on which documents can be laid while they are being sorted and placed in position between the dividers.

In use, documents to be sorted or classified are placed between the appropriate dividers and the user of the apparatus 10 sits midway along the length of the apparatus. In order toreach the dividers at each end of the apparatus the carriage is slid on the base 1 1 towards and away from the user so as to give access to all of the dividers in the relatively long carriage 16.

It is also possible with the apparatus 10 to provide two units alongside one another to provide a double bank of document dividers. In this case the legs of the unit closest to the user will be shortened so that the outer bank, i.e. that furthest away from the user is higher than the inner or near bank. Since the spacing of the legs of the apparatus 10 is approximately 12 inches it is possible for an operator to reach all of the dividers in a double bank set up in this way.

It will be appreciated that the shape of the flaps 47 and 48 can be varied if required and one alternative flap is indicated generally at 51 in FIG. 7. The flap 51 has a right-angle flange 52 and lip 53 which serves the same purpose as the flange 49 and lip 50 in the flap 48. Spaced from the flange 52 the flap 51 is formed with an upwardly opening square-section channel 54 which is adapted to hold cards or similar documents. When the flap 51 is mounted on the carriage 16, the channel 54 extends along the side of the carriage and can be used to tile a different set of documents to those filed or sorted between the dividers 18.

In order to assemble the apparatus 10 all that is necessary is to bolt the four legs 12, 13, 14 and 15 onto the base 11, slide the carriage rollers into the tracks 22 and 23, insert the end stops on the carriage l6 and mount the flaps 47 and 48 and the tray 17 within the sliding carriage 16. It will be seen that this is a relatively quick and simple operation which can be carried out by unskilled labour and similarly, the apparatus 10 can be readily disassembled for packing and transport. Normally thebase and carriage would be assembled and transported as a single unit but this is not essential.

The apparatus 10 can also be partially folded for transport by undoing the outer bolts 35 on each leg and swinging the legs, as shown in FIG. 4, into a position in which they lie beneath the base 11 and parallel thereto.

It will be appreciated that the shaping of the extruded base 11 and the extruded carriage 16 can be varied, and two possible modifications of the shaping of the base and carriage are shown in FIGS. 5 and 6.

In FIG. 5 there is shown a carriage 60 having rollers 61 mounted on the outside face of a downwardly depending wall 62. A fixed base 63 on which the carriage 60 is slidably engaged has inwardly facing tracks 64 in which the rollers are located. Each track 64 is defined by inwardly directed lips 65 and 66 which retain the rollers in position and the rollers are adapted to run freely within the track 64. It will thus be seen that the carriage 60 and the base 63 are similar to the carriage 16 and base 11 except that the rollers and tracks are inversely arranged.

In FIG. 6 a sliding carriage is indicated generally at 70 and a fixed base at 71. The carriage 70 is provided with two outwardly and oppositely facing tracks '72 and the base is provided with upstanding walls 73 and the inner faces of which are mounted free-running rollers 74. The rollers run in the tracks 72 and thus the carriage 70 is adapted to ride freely on the rollers 74 which are themselves mounted on the fixed base 71.

It will be understood that the modifications to the apparatus 10 which are shown in FIG. 5 and 6 are only examples of the many variations which can be designed to give an equally smooth operation but in every case either the base or the carriage is provided with a pair of tracks and the other member with a plurality of free running rollers which engage in the tracks so that the carriage is freely slidable relative to the base.

It will be also seen that there is a substantial gap between the base ll and the shelf 38, allowing room for further filing for instance, a lateral suspended filing rail can be mounted beneath the base 1 1 by a pair of screws or bolts and filing folders or pockets suspended from the rail. This substantially increases th versatility of the apparatus 10 without interfering with the movement of the carriage 16 in any way.

Further minor modifications can be made to the above described embodiment without departing from the spirit and scope'of the invention which is best described in the following claims.

What we claim is: I

1. Document sorting apparatus comprising an elongate and substantially rigid base having laterally-spaced longitudinal sides and an elongate carriage slidably mounted on the base and formed with an elongate upwardly facing channel adapted to hold documents or document holding trays, wherein each longitudinal side of the base is formed with a longitudinally extending downwardly and outwardly facing channel, and legs having right-angular upper end portions engaging in said channels.

2. Apparatus as claimed in claim 1, wherein the downwardly and outwardly facing channels extend the full length of the base.

3. Apparatus as claimed in claim 2, wherein the said two channels at each end of the base. have parallel side walls which are inclined downwardly and outwardly from the vertical median plane of the base at an angle of 45.

4. Apparatus as claimedin claim 3, wherein each leg comprises in addition to the upper end portion, an intermediate portion extending at right 'angles to the upper end portion and inclined to the vertical at approximately 45 and a lower vertical end portion ex-.

tending 135 from the intermediate portion.

5. Apparatus as claimed in claim 4, wherein the upper end portion of each leg is externally square in section each channel in the base is correspondingly shaped and the upper end portion of each leg is mounted in a channel with a resilient pad clamped between theleg and the base of the channel.

6. Apparatus as claimed in claim 5, wherein the upper end portion of each leg is mounted in a channel with the aid of two spaced fastening members and the leg is pivotable about one of the fastening members when the other fastening member is removed so that the leg can be swung through into a position in which the lower end portion of the leg lies parallel with and adjacent to the base.

7. Apparatus as claimed in claim 3, wherein the longitudinal sides of the base are each formed with an upstanding longitudinally extending side wall and the carriage is formed with two downwardly depending, longitudinally extending side walls which overlap vertically with the upstanding side walls of the base and wherein rolling elements are mounted and contained between the said upstanding side walls of the base and the downwardly depending side walls of the carriage enabling the carriage to be slidably moved relative to the base.

8. Apparatus as claimed in claim 7, wherein the rolling elements are mounted on the side walls of the carriage and roll in tracks formed in the side walls of the base.

9. Apparatus as claimed in claim 7, wherein the rolling elements are mounted on the side walls of the base and roll in tracks formed in the side walls of .the carriage. I

10. Apparatus as claimed in claim 9, wherein the base is formed as a single extrusion of a light-weight metal alloy.

11. Apparatus as claimed in claim 10, wherein the carriage is formed as a single extrusion of a light-weight metal alloy.

12. Apparatus as claimed in claim 11, wherein each leg comprises in addition to said right-angular upper 1 end portion, an intermediate portion extending at right angles to the upper end portion and inclined to the vertical at approximately 45 and a lower vertical end portion extending at from the intermediate portion.

13. Apparatus as claimed in claim 12, wherein the upper end portion of each leg is externally square in section, each channel in the base is correspondingly shaped and the upper end portion of each leg is mounted in a channel with a resilient pad clamped be tween the leg and the base of the channel.

14. Apparatus as claimed in claim 13, wherein the upper end portion of each leg is mounted in a channel with the aid of two spaced fastening members and the leg is pivotable about one of the fastening members when the other fastening member is removed so that the leg can be swung through 90 into a position in which the lower end portion of the leg lies parallelwith and adjacent to the basel 15. Apparatus as claimed in claim 13, and including an L-shaped flap attached to each side of the carriage and a document holding tray located in the upwardly facing channel of the carriage, each flap comprising a horizontal arm projecting outwardly from a side of the carriage and a vertical arm extending downwardly between an internal face of the said channel and a side of articles comprising a channel shaped member having other, one of the arms extending downwardly between the said at least one side wall of the channel shaped member and the retaining member into the recess and being formed with a reversely bent portion which extends substantially wholly across the recess and the other arm of the removable flap extending outwardly from the said at least one side wall for the support of documents or the like articles. 

1. Document sorting apparatus comprising an elongate and substantially rigid base having laterally-spaced longitudinal sides and an elongate carriage slidably mounted on the base and formed with an elongate upwardly facing channel adapted to hold documents or document holding trays, wherein each longitudinal side of the base is formed with a longitudinally extending downwardly and outwardly facing channel, and legs having rightangular upper end portions engaging in said channels.
 2. Apparatus as claimed in claim 1, wherein the downwardly and outwardly facing channels extend the full length of the base.
 3. Apparatus as claimed in claim 2, wherein the said two channels at each end of the base have parallel side walls which are inclined downwardly and outwardly from the vertical median plane of the base at an angle of 45*.
 4. Apparatus as claimed in claim 3, wherein each leg comprises in addition to the upper end portion, an intermediate portion extending at right angles to the upper end portion and inclined to the vertical at approximately 45* and a lower vertical end portion extending 135* from the intermediate portion.
 5. Apparatus as claimed in claim 4, wherein the upper end portion of each leg is externally square in section each channel in the base is correspondingly shaped and the upper end portion of each leg is mounted in a channel with a resilient pad clamped between the leg and the base of the channel.
 6. Apparatus as claimed in claim 5, wherein the upper end portion of each leg is mounted in a channel with the aid of two spaced fastening members and the leg is pivotable about one of the fastening members when the other fastening member is removed so that the leg can be swung through 90* into a position in which the lower end portion of the leg lies parallel with and adjacent to the base.
 7. Apparatus as claimed in claim 3, wherein the longitudinal sides of the base are each formed with an upstanding longitudinally extending side wall and the carriage is formed with two downwardly depending, longitudinally extending side walls which overlap vertically with the upstanding side walls of the base and wherein rolling elements are mounted and contained between the said upstanding side walls of the base and the downwardly depending side walls of the carriage enabling the carriage to be slidably moved relative to the base.
 8. Apparatus as claimed in claim 7, wherein the rolling elements are mounted on the side walls of the carriage and roll in tracks formed in the side walls of the base.
 9. Apparatus as claimed in claim 7, wherein the rolling elements are mounted on the side walls of the base and roll in tracks formed in the side walls of the carriage.
 10. Apparatus as claimed in claim 9, wherein the base is formed as a single extrusion of a light-weight metal alloy.
 11. Apparatus as claimed in claim 10, wherein the carriage is formed as a single extrusion of a light-weight metal alloy.
 12. Apparatus as claimed in claim 11, wherein each leg comprises in addition to said right-angular upper end portion, an intermediate portion extending at right angles to the upper end portion and inclined to the vertical at approximately 45* and a lower vertical end portion extending at 135* from the intermediate portion.
 13. Apparatus as claimed in claim 12, wherein the upper end portion of each leg is externally square in section, each channel in the base is correspondingly shaped and the upper end portion of each leg is mounted in a channel with a resilient pad clamped between the leg and the base of the channel.
 14. Apparatus as claimed in claim 13, wherein the upper end portion of each leg is mounted in a channel with the aid of two spaced fastening members and the leg is pivotable about one of the fastening members when the other fastening member is removed so that the leg can be swung through 90* into a position in which the lower end portion of the leg lies parallel with and adjacent to the base.
 15. Apparatus as claimed in claim 13, and including an L-shaped flap attached to each side of the carriage and a document holding tray located in the upwardly facing channel of the carriage, each flap comprising a horizontal arm projecting outwardly from a side of the carriage and a vertical arm extending downwardly between an internal face of the said channel and a side of the tray, the lower end portion of the vertical arm of each flap being reversely bent and located in the said recess to resist withdrawal of the vertical arm from the carriage.
 16. Apparatus for supporting documents or similar articles comprising a channel shaped member having two upstanding side walls and a bottom surface extending between the side walls, a retaining member fitting between the side walls of the channel shaped member with a small clearance between each side wall and the retaining member, a recess in at least one of the side walls of the channel shaped member extending lengthwise thereof and to a depth below the bottom surface of the channel shaped member and a removable flap comprising two arms arranged at right angles to one another, one of the arms extending downwardly between the said at least one side wall of the channel shaped member and the retaining member into the recess and being formed with a reversely bent portion which extends substantially wholly across the recess and the other arm of the removable flap extending outwardly from the said at least one side wall for the support of documents or the like articles. 